We’ve all read conflicting articles on wine — is it good for you? Is it bad? It is a question that has long plagued The Taster, as anyone who reads our regular Scare Watch column knows (basically, the advice given one month is usually reversed or contradicted the next). Our own (hugely unscientific) observation is that some cheap white wines do seem to have a certain allergenic quality — that is, the first glass is accompanied by a brief, but explosive, sneezing fit. There may be something in the idea that low-sulphite wine don’t trigger such reactions?

According to Good Wine Online, natural wine can be very beneficial if it is produced without harmful additives or heavy filtration, which removes the natural goodness. ‘Natural’ wines have virtually nothing added nor taken away. They are basically fermented grape juice, unfiltered, retaining nature’s most powerful antioxidants (polyphenols): resveratrol, quercetin and epicatechin. They are five times more powerful than vitamins C & E and help protect against cancer, diabetes and dementia. Natural wine also reduces ‘bad’ cholesterol and the risk of stroke and vascular disease, and has numerous other health benefits. The human body cannot store polyphenols, so the American ‘Wine Doctor’ Dr Philip Norrie* suggests that, for optimum benefit, we drink a little natural wine every day.

Find Christmas-mix cases, or create your own cases, HEREwith Good Wine Online; there is also a page of ‘Sensational Wines’ if you just want to give somebody one exquisite bottle.